A headlong exploration into the complex world of hair and identity.

Tag Archives: bowl cut

The Riot Grrrl Movement began in the early ’90s by Washington State band Bikini Kill and lead singer Kathleen Hanna. They published the “Riot Grrrl Manifesto” in 1991:

BECAUSE us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our own ways.

BECAUSE we wanna make it easier for girls to see/hear each other’s work so that we can share strategies and criticize-applaud each other.

BECAUSE we must take over the means of production in order to create our own moanings.

BECAUSE viewing our work as being connected to our girlfriends-politics-real lives is essential if we are gonna figure out how we are doing impacts, reflects, perpetuates, or DISRUPTS the status quo.

BECAUSE we recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming our dreams AND THUS seek to create revolution in our own lives every single day by envisioning and creating alternatives to the bullshit christian capitalist way of doing things.

BECAUSE we want and need to encourage and be encouraged in the face of all our own insecurities, in the face of beergutboyrock that tells us we can’t play our instruments, in the face of “authorities” who say our bands/zines/etc are the worst in the US and

BECAUSE we don’t wanna assimilate to someone else’s (boy) standards of what is or isn’t.

BECAUSE we are unwilling to falter under claims that we are reactionary “reverse sexists” AND NOT THE TRUEPUNKROCKSOULCRUSADERS THAT WE KNOW we really are.

BECAUSE we know that life is much more than physical survival and are patently aware that the punk rock “you can do anything” idea is crucial to the coming angry grrrl rock revolution which seeks to save the psychic and cultural lives of girls and women everywhere, according to their own terms, not ours.

BECAUSE we are interested in creating non-heirarchical ways of being AND making music, friends, and scenes based on communication + understanding, instead of competition + good/bad categorizations.

BECAUSE doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism, able-bodieism, ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-semitism and heterosexism figures in our own lives.

BECAUSE we see fostering and supporting girl scenes and girl artists of all kinds as integral to this process.

BECAUSE we hate capitalism in all its forms and see our main goal as sharing information and staying alive, instead of making profits of being cool according to traditional standards.

BECAUSE we are angry at a society that tells us Girl = Dumb, Girl = Bad, Girl = Weak.

BECAUSE we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or turned against us via the internalization of sexism as witnessed in girl/girl jealousism and self defeating girltype behaviors.

BECAUSE I believe with my wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can, and will change the world for real.

Ana Mendieta (1948-1985), a Cuban-born artist who explored themes of feminism, violence, life, death, place, and belonging through performance art and sculpture, produced a series of self-portraits in which she transfers the facial hair of a male friend onto her own face. See the whole series here, and consider the gender-specificity of facial hair and how that impacts our [mis]perceptions of beauty.

Earlier this summer, WNPR reporter Jeff Cohen interviewed his two young daughters after five-year-old Sadie decided to give three-year-old Eva a haircut. Evidently, Eva’s hair was all the way down to her hips, and as Sadie points out, “If it grew any longer when she wiped her butt, her hair would go in the toilet and it’d be gross.”

Sadie’s efforts were logical enough, but dads are often mystified by their daughters’ long tresses; however, when they’re brave enough to dive into the world of combs and brushes and braids and barrettes, there’s a special sort of bonding that can occur. This contributor no doubt had fond memories of the nightly hairbrushing ritual that she shared with her dad.

There’s much to chew on here, but I think I’ll take the opportunity to introduce Rebecca Drolen‘s recent exhibition, Hair Pieces. Here’s what she has to say about her own exploration of hair and identity:

I am interested in the line between the beautiful and the grotesque in our connection with hair. I am intrigued by the rules that guide our ideas and self-image in relation to our tresses. In the work, I use photography and the self-portrait as a medium to construct narratives that function both as visual puns and, at times, as social critique. I hope to use the beautiful alongside the repulsive in these images to tell stories of growth and removal as they examine a surreal relationship between hair and its place.

Be sure to visit her website to learn more and see the entire collection!

A 2001 study conducted by Dr. Marianne LaFrance, Professor of Psychology and of Women’s and Gender Studies at Yale University, revealed that the frame can actually matter more than the painting – according to “First Impressions and Hair Impressions,” one’s hairstyle dictates a stranger’s first impression of them far more than their facial features. Regarding women’s hairstyles, the study found that women with long, straight, blonde hairstyles are perceived as the sexiest and most affluent, whereas women with medium-length, casual-looking hairstyles are viewed as more intelligent and good-natured.

While there’s benefit to being mindful of how people perceive us, perhaps the more important questions should be, Is this functional? and Do I feel fabulous?

For those of you who might not be familiar with the “bowl cut” style, the image below should help clarify how one might go about acquiring one.

Though the style is beginning to re-emerge following a loss in popularity during the 1990s, since burying his dreadlocks under an avocado tree, this participant has opted to maintain a more “normal” look.